Networth News

Financial Planning

The Future of Financial Advice and the effects on portfolio management. A look at the proposed ‘best interest’ duty standards and whether they will have any impact on the quality of portfolio management carried out by financial planners on behalf of their retail clients. Read full article

Financial planner opt-in to cost $95 per client per year. The cost of the Government's two-year opt-in arrangements for financial planners would be $95 per client per year and not the "ridiculous" $11 cost adopted by the Federal Government. Read full article

Superannuation

Analyst suggests two-tier super to reduce financial stress. People aged under 50 need protection from the proposed increase in superannuation contributions because many are under financial stress, a leading policy analyst says. Read full article

Young Aussies attracted to SMSFs. The self-managed super fund (SMSF) model had become increasingly attractive to younger investors over the past few years, according to the Self-Managed Super Fund Professionals' Association of Australia (SPAA). Read full article

Regulatory

Three Storm Financial advisers banned. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) accepted enforceable undertakings (EUs) from three former Storm Financial advisers in the week before Christmas. Read full article

UK tightens up overseas pension rules. The UK Government has moved to tighten up the rules around its qualifying recognised overseas pensions schemes (QROPS) arrangements in a move likely to impact some financial planning companies in both Australia and New Zealand. Read full article

Funds management

Weak sharemarket hurts fund managers. The effect of the fall in financial markets on fund managers was confirmed yesterday, with large-cap and small-cap managers signalling weak earnings. Read full article

S&P affirms ratings on 25 global emerging market funds. Standard and Poor's Fund Services (S&P) has affirmed the ratings of 25 global emerging-market capabilities across three peer groups of global emerging markets, Asia (excluding Japan), and single country (including China and India). Read full article

Investments

GFC 2.0 requires a defensive portfolio - Fidelity. In 2012, a conservative asset allocation is the best defence against a so-called 'second round' of the global financial crisis. Read full article

Australia's long bond rally to end in 2012. The longest rally in benchmark Australian government bonds since 2005 will end this year as a record mining boom shields the economy from Europe's sovereign-debt crisis, according to economists. Read full article

Insurance

Life risk sales continue to grow. The life insurance sector has shown healthy results for most of 2011 as sales enter double-digit growth, according to the Life Analysis Report published by Dexx&r. Read full article

Light at the end of the global debt tunnel: IBISWorld. Despite high levels of global debt there are signs of light at the end of the tunnel, according to the chairman of business research house IBISWorld, Phil Ruthven. Read full article

Markets

Key European debt crisis deals near. Negotiators have reached an outline deal on a European pact to restore balanced budgets and Greece voiced hope it will secure a private debt write-down, as Italy and Spain sailed through their first bond auctions of the year. Read full article

European bank concerns dominate sentiment. Aussie shares are expected to open flat and traders are expected to stay on the sidelines today, after negative leads from the US and European markets, after the US Non-Farm Payrolls report and continuing problems with EU debt. Read full article